AN: Welcome to the last (!) chapter :) I recommend you read the last scene of the last chapter to refresh your memory…

She looked at him, eyes tearing up.

"What?" he asked, in a short half-breath.

"I told you that you could tell me if you need me. Why haven't you told me you need me? You said you love me and it hurts to be apart, so why haven't you asked me to stay? You talked about going back to Hogwarts for Quidditch and not for me, and I just…"

"Hermione," was all Ron could say, before walking around the desk, sitting on it in front of her, and bringing her close to him for a hug. "Why would I ask you to stay?"

"Because…" she sniffed again, "because the idea of being apart tears at you the same way it tears at me? Because you're being irrational, and impractical, and you're hoping there's some way we can be together and still have the careers we want?"

"Merlin," he said, before creating enough room between them that he could kiss her pursed lips. "You're barmy."

"I'm serious."

He looked at her, relishing having her actually looking back at him in what felt like ages… worried that he saw pain there.

"I know you think you are," he sighed, shaking his head. "I can't ask you to stay. What kind of boyfriend would I be, if I asked you to give up your future for me? You are amazing and you can have the best of futures, but we both know you need the NEWTs for that. I couldn't—I never expected that there was any choice but for you to go and get twenty NEWT-level certifications."

She scoffed. "There aren't twenty available," Hermione corrected despite herself.

"I also couldn't go. I can't miss out on the Auror special admission and this is the last fast track opening. We both know that if we went together to Hogwarts I wouldn't be doing it for the exams, and I can't risk failing them and being denied acceptance into the Auror program. Why risk it? And the business is going through some crucial restructuring; I can't do my job through Owl communications. More than anything, I can't leave George alone."

"I know," she sighed too.

"I didn't mean the Quidditch stuff. I was just trying to get you to react."

"Ron… I don't know what I'm going to do. Without you there..."

"I know," he said, kissing her forehead. "I will miss you, too. Now, with your brilliant invention, at least we can talk everyday, even through the day, if we have time. And we'll have all those extra Hogsmeade visits…"

"Don't go to Kings Cross tomorrow."

That stopped him short. He created more distance between them, this time by holding her upper arms in his hands, his elbows at ninety degrees.

"What?!"

His brain fought to make sense of this rollercoaster; how could she go from fearing not having him around to not wanting him around?

"Please," she begged, reaching to his shoulders with her hands. "If you go, I don't think..."

Ron shook his head and made to step aside, but she reached up to surround his neck with her arms, and began kissing his neck, his jaw.

"Please, please," she said between kisses. "If we say goodbye now, maybe then I can leave, and we can talk on the parchment when I'm on the train…"

"You're mental," he said, his hands half-trying to stop her advances, but his body reacted too quickly to her, damn it.

"Please," she insisted, this time bringing his head down for a desperate kiss. He expected to fight it, but he fell into it despite his inner war. "Ron. I can't say goodbye."

"I can't not go," Ron replied, but this time his hands were travelling down and up again on her waist, doing a quick reconnoiter of her breasts. "I can't stay behind in my office while you go away, pretending everything is fine. I won't stay behind."

"Let's do it now," she said, and Ron didn't know if she meant sex or saying goodbye, only that she had turned them on their spot, levering herself up to sit on the desk, before reaching out to bring him closer. "I need you."

Ron groaned, at her words and at the way it felt when his pelvis crashed against her pubic bone, an uncontrollable jerk making him rub himself against her. "I have to leave soon. We have a meeting at the Ministry," he growled, even as his fingers curled around her hip bones.

She reached to touch him through his trousers, finding him hard in wanting.

"Please," she said again as she reached for his hands, guiding them to her breasts. "I'm even wearing a skirt. I know you love it when I wear a skirt."

He couldn't possibly hold back after that.

"Shit, Hermione," he said, reaching down to quickly undo his trousers and free himself. "I love you," he said, before holding himself with one hand while the other pulled the fabric of her skirt to her waist, then the swatch of her panties aside.

He pushed inside of her and she took a sharp breath; he wondered if maybe she hadn't been ready and it had hurt her, but quickly knew that wasn't the case: he could feel how wet she was.

"I love the feeling of you entering me," she said at his ear.

He heard himself making a noise deep in his throat, completely out of his control. He began to move, fast. Faster.

"I won't last long. I can't take the time to… to…"

He couldn't finish, he was overtaken by sensation.

"I can…" she said, interrupted by a moan escaping her throat. "I can… help," she said, reaching down with her hand to help herself along, while the other held her up, hooked around his neck.

"Fuck," he said, and he pumped close to completion, encouraged by her moans. "Hermione."

"Let go," she said. "I'm close."

"I won't," Ron said. "I won't let go."

That was the right thing to say; he felt her climax around him and with that, he let himself loose.

"Come to me tonight," he said, still inside her. "I've got to go now, but I'll need you tonight. Don't let this be our goodbye."

He saw her eyes cloud with tears once more, but she nodded. He trusted she would not fail him.

It was almost midnight and Hermione hadn't yet made it to the flat. The shop had closed at the usual time, 9:00, and then he'd come upstairs to eat and wait for her. By 10:30 he had started to look at his watch every five minutes. Now, by 11:00, he was worried and indecisive.

Should he go to her? Should he send his patronus? An Owl? Use the parchments she had come up with? He needed to know what was going on with her.

Ron looked around the flat, trying to decide. George was staying back at home, but was coming back the following day; Ron didn't need to worry about letting him know he was going to Hermione's house… but should he go at all?

Finally, the crack of Hermione Apparating in the room broke the silence.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, not bothering with a hello. She came to him and hugged him close. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean… I was on the phone and then I got to reviewing my packing and Crookshank's cage and I came as soon as I realised what time it was!"

"I was about to go find you myself," he said. "Does that mean you forgot to eat?"

Hermione gave him a look of confusion. "Eat?"

"Dinner? The last meal of the day?"

"I'm hungry," she stated as if surprised to notice it.

Ron chuckled and went to find food for her. She asked him about his meeting at the Ministry as she quickly ate her meal.

"The deal is done," he said after telling her of their adventures trying to find the right office in time, as Ron had been late. "Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and WWW Express are two different companies. I'm officially the partner of two successful joke shops. We're already talking about a future umbrella corporation, managing the physical shops, the Owl order side of things, and a third firm that creates and manufactures the products."

"You're really good at business," Hermione said in wonder. "Have you thought of not going for the Auror training and maybe doing this full time?"

Ron scoffed, and told himself the butterflies in his stomach were a product of Hermione's admiration and nothing else.

Hermione smiled at him, before getting up to clean her dish.

Ron waited for her at the sofa, staring into space. She came back and sat close to him, a leg curled under her, facing him.

"I thought you'd be mad at me for being late. I'm leaving tomorrow," she said.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to waste our last night together being angry again. You're leaving tomorrow," he repeated, his voice sad.

Without any more words, Hermione got up again only to come sit on his lap; she rested her head on his shoulder. He surrounded her with his arms, taking a deep breath at the crown of her head, trying to memorize the smell of her hair.

"Hogwarts will feel empty, without you there," she sighed. "Who's going to doze off next to me while I study? Who's going to ask me to review their homework?"

"Ginny, probably," he joked. "She even has red hair and a pale, freckled complexion."

Hermione lifted her head so that he could see her rolling her eyes. "Sure, but she doesn't make my knees weak with a look. Luckily. I mean, I fancy her brother."

He laughed. "I also hope you don't go sniffing her hair when she looks like she's sleeping, or looking at her as if counting her freckles was the most fascinating thing in the room."

Despite everything, she still blushed at his teasing. He smiled, proud.

"How often did you catch me doing that?"

"Not that many times, or I wouldn't have doubted you actually fancied me, would I? I'm sure you caught me many more times than I did you."

She kissed him. "I told myself you were just a randy teenager and I was the nearest witch your age with boobs."

"I was and you were, but the other girls didn't have the same effect on me. You didn't catch me looking at other girls much, did you?"

"Can't say that I did," she said, smiling.

He sighed. "We can survive it, this distance thing. We've gone through war, we've gone through fights and mistakes. This won't be the thing to break us."

She sighed, too, and kissed his neck. "I know you're right. Doesn't mean it's going to be easy."

He laughed, placing her more securely on his lap.

"You know how else I know this won't be the end of us?" she asked. He knew it was rhetorical, so he didn't bother replying. "Despite everything, we never thought of breaking up. We never even considered it, when talking about how we'd deal with the separation."

Ron stiffened for a second at that; just the mention of potentially breaking up was enough to scare him. "Of course not!" he said, this time squeezing her against him, as if she were to escape if given too much room. "That was never on the table!"

"And isn't it great, in a way?" she asked, making him give her enough space to look at him. "Despite everything, we're together. We can fight and despair but we're doing that together. I know… I know that you're right, we'll survive it, but I'll hate it."

Ron chuckled.

"Because you're my rock," she added in a soft voice. "You're my past, you're my growth, the person I trust with my heart."

Ron's breathing got stuck in his lungs, pleasurable pain and joy and longing all mixing up and blocking his body's functions.

"It'll hurt to be apart because I love you," she continued, "but we have the parchment and Hogsmeade visits, just like you said."

"Are you…" he tried, "are you trying to say goodbye now?"

"I know you believe it's best if you go but..."

"Hermione, don't."

"A part of me wants to be with you every second we get before I have to go. A bigger part of me is so, so afraid of that moment that I—Ron, I hate to ask this, I truly do, but maybe if we—"

"Stop. You can't ask me that," he said. "Don't you believe everything you just said? It will be hard, but it doesn't matter. You'll cry and maybe I'll cry, and it doesn't matter. They can write about it in the Prophet for all I care. It doesn't matter. We don't need to… to protect ourselves from the pain. We feel it because we care for each other. I wouldn't change that for the world. I'm not afraid to feel a bit of pain, a year of missing you, if I feel those things because I love you."

"I love you, too," she said in a whisper.

"We'll write every day. You'll see; I'll write on the charmed parchment while I'm working and I'll distract you in class all the way away from here. We'll meet every month during Hogsmeade visits. We'll both be so busy the year will be over before we know it."

"We'll be far away from each other but we won't be apart. It won't be lonely," Hermione said, apparently dropping her ridiculous idea, finally.

"We'll be brilliant at this distance thing. You're the best at everything and you'll be the best at this, too… and you won't let me be any less."

She held his face in both hands and kissed his mouth. "Thank you, for saving me from myself."

"This will be just the first goodbye," he said, getting up with her in his arms. "You'll see."

It was late. Hermione could have checked Ron's watch but chose not to; they were naked on his bed, legs entwined, her head on his shoulder, and they were surrounded by the night breeze and the feeling of being suspended in time. She didn't want anything to change.

"I would like this moment to last forever," she said.

The arm around her shoulders squeezed her against him.

"I'm trying my bloody hardest to sear this memory into my brain."

"Maybe, one day when we're sixty, we'll be in bed just like this, and we'll say, remember when we were young and greedy and thought a year apart would be too long? Because after knowing you for an eternity and being together for decades, that year was nothing."

"Maybe I will have outgrown my smart mouth and I will be wise and thoughtful, and I will reply that this year apart only strengthened us, that it forced us to speak up and actually learn to talk about what matters."

She put a hand on his chest and rested her chin on it, so that she could look at him. "You think we don't do that?"

He looked down at her. He used his free hand to play with her hair; clearing her face from stray tendrils, twirling some of her hair on a finger.

"I think we do well enough, but I also think it'll be different, when all we can do is talk. We need to keep that going, when we can't be close like this. My dad always said that talking is very important in a relationship, so I suppose I'm curious about what that'll be like for us."

"Maybe you're already wise and thoughtful."

He laughed. "You truly do love me, don't you. I can't make out why you'd think that of me if you didn't."

"I do," was all she replied, climbing up to kiss him.

"What I said—don't let it fool you," he said, still with a hand on her hair, this time pulling it back and cradling her head. "I will miss this." He brought her to him for another kiss.

He pushed her back to change their position; he now was on his side, holding his head up on the hand of a bent arm, close to her. He used the other hand to trace a line with a finger, around her face and down her neck.

"It took us a long time to get here," he said, "but now it feels natural. I can't believe there was a time when kissing you wasn't something I could just do," his finger travelled around a breast and upwards to tenderly brush a nipple, "when touching you like this was just the content of my wet dreams."

She chuckled but the sound came out strangled, from the way her body had began to light up with his touch. His mouth came down to close around the other tip; her hand came to his hair.

"Ron… you're it for me," she said, surprising herself with her vehemence.

He stopped what he was doing to look at her. His smile was radiant and teasing and lopsided. "You're it for me, too, Hermione."

"Come here," she asked, guiding him up to her mouth with her hand on his hair.

She kissed his smile, not even caring that she knew he felt smug. She kissed him more, for a long time, nipping at his lips and scratching his shoulders and back. She knew she had to be leaving marks, but she still didn't care. She wanted to mark him, to love him, to let her body show his that she wanted him, all of him.

She knew he wanted her, too. He was between her legs now, teasing them both. He made way between them with one hand, to use his fingers to rub and stroke and explore. She had to stop him from making her finish too quickly; she needed more of him.

She pushed back and straddled him, hands raking through his hair as she kissed him and pulled at his lip with her teeth.

"Fuck… Merlin," he said as she continued to kiss and nibble. "Hermione."

The way he said her name… she needed him inside. She reached down with a hand to guide him to her. She settled down, slowly, accommodating to the feeling of fullness that took her breath away for an instant each time, only for her heart to answer with a race and a dare. She began to move, noting the way his arms had gone above his head to brace against the wall. She moved faster, paying attention at the way his chest looked wider with his arms like that, and how it expanded and contracted as he tried to catch more air. His head strained back on the pillows, stretching the column of his neck. His adam's apple wobbled.

Dazed, she slowed down and lowered to kiss his sternum, right where his heart lived. She could feel it beating fast. She felt his fingers on her hair, asking her to kiss him; she sat up again and this time he came with her. He kissed her madly, deeply, sucking on her tongue and biting her lips, this time. She held him, her arms looping around his neck. Her fingers curled where they met his skin, letting her nails cling to his flesh. She had a moment of clarity, highly aware that they were two best friends, they were Ron and Hermione, who'd fallen in love and found a way to overcome doubts and mistakes, to end the pining and longing, and were now here, like this. She was the one to smile, now.

He opened his eyes and caught her like that. His eyes filled with wonder, just as their breaths rushed and mingled together. Again, as if he couldn't get enough, he lifted his arms to pull back her hair. She let her head drop back, following the motion of his hands, and her body shattered as he kissed her exposed neck.

They were still in each other's arms when they fell asleep much, much later.

Ron woke up and did two things at the same time: he forced his eyes open and he reached for Hermione, his arm stretching to the side to find her empty pillow. Later he would wonder if a part of him knew she had gone and was trying to warn him, to prepare him for the shock of it. In the moment, all he could do was sit up in panic and confusion, looking around for signs of her. He found a note on the side table.

Ron,

I woke up late. I went home to get my things and then I'm off to Kings Cross.

Love,

Hermione

"Shit," he said and, after checking his watch and noticing the time, he repeated far more forcefully, "Shit!"

If she had been late, he was desperately late.

He jumped off the bed and went to wash his face and brush his teeth. He ran back to his bedroom and started to change his clothes, thinking of the best way to make it to Kings Cross fast. Avoiding the question of why Hermione had not woken him up.

Was she still trying to not have him there? He thought she had given up on that rubbish idea! If she hadn't, too bad. He had to be there; he'd told her as much the night before, didn't he? He'd make it to platform 9 and ¾ on time somehow, and show her they could take on anything, even a goodbye.

Hermione sat down in the first compartment she found empty, leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes. She had waited for Ron until the first whistle signalling that students needed to get on the train, before saying goodbye to Harry and stepping away to give him and Ginny privacy. Mrs. Weasley had been the only person other than Harry to come to send them off, everyone else busy with work, but she had left the platform a little while ago. Hermione ignored their worried looks just like she had ignored their questions earlier, not wanting to explain why Ron wasn't there, nor why she seemed to be calm about it.

She sighed. Ginny would soon come sit by her, once she was done saying goodbye to Harry—probably with a whole five seconds to spare. Hermione kept her eyes closed, unwilling to look at the people still saying goodbye. She wasn't sure why Ron hadn't come; when they had been together the night before they'd said they'd make it their real goodbye, but she had assumed they were on the same page: it was decided he'd come to Kings Cross. There had to be some miscommunication; she knew he'd really wanted to come and she now really wanted him there but, if he didn't make it, she knew they'd be fine. She trusted their relationship and their love would endure it all... and yet, she couldn't help but wonder…

Why hadn't he come to say goodbye? Knowing him, after these months together and after the night before, she knew in her bones that something was going on and this wasn't a choice. As she considered the options, she made up her mind; maybe he'd slept through the alarm she had set for him, right before leaving to get her things from home. So yeah, she fully trusted this would be a hiccup and nothing else but… She couldn't help it. She couldn't rationalize it. She was getting sadder by the minute.

A day ago, she had fantasized that he wouldn't be there, that his absence would free her from having to say goodbye. Not that many hours later, she totally agreed with Ron: it was absurd, and she was obtuse to think that not seeing him at Kings Cross would make things better. No, of course he had been right, and she wished she could tell him in person.

The whistle announcing that the train would leave in five minutes tore the air. Hermione started playing with a fold of her clothes, refusing to look outside. One, two, three breaths later, she jumped off her seat and re-organized her trunk and Crookshank's cage. She was considering changing into her school robes when she noticed there was a bit of a commotion outside of her compartment. She didn't have time to get into a Head Girl headspace before she realised part of the uproar consisted of Ron's voice screaming her name.

"Hermione?! Where are you?" his voice said as she took two steps and opened the door to the aisle. "Bloody hell, Hermi—"

"Ron!" she interrupted him.

He saw her, reached her in one long stride, hugged her tight enough to crack a couple of ribs, and kissed her hard enough to bruise her lips.

Hermione couldn't be happier.

She surrounded his neck with her arms, and let him guide her back to her compartment as they continued to kiss. She guessed he closed the door with his foot as she heard it rattle with the force of it; she ignored the whistles coming from outside and focused on his lips and his hands that seemed to be everywhere.

"You're here," she breathed, "you're here!"

"Did you really think I'd stay behind?" he asked her, his hands holding her face, his lips dropping to hers again. "I told you last night, nothing would stop me."

"No, I know. And you were right. Just thinking that we wouldn't say goodbye was—I was so stupid, and you were right! I wanted you here. I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course I was right!" they kissed again. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I thought you'd rather sleep a bit longer, since we didn't get much sleep and I had to stop by my house anyway, so I set the alarm clock—"

"Fuck, yeah, I totally slept through it. I was worried; I thought maybe you…"

"No, no, we agreed last night you'd be here. I was just confused…"

He kissed her again, erasing the need to finish all their half-sentences.

"I'm glad I made it. I had to give you this," he said, separating from her and dangling a small patterned bag between them.

"What is this?" she asked, reaching for it.

"A new bag for you," he explained as she opened it and explored inside.

"Ron!" she exclaimed, awe in her voice as she saw its interior seemed endless. "Did you do the undetectable extension charm?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "I noticed your beaded bag was getting a little rough looking, so I got you a new one."

Hermione saw what looked like a small package rattling around and took it out. In closer inspection, it seemed like a stack of letters and photos, all tied together with a long piece of maroon yarn. Turning it over, she realised the first item was a picture of the two of them, from the time Ginny and Harry had taken a camera to the shop. It quickly became blurry as tears filled her eyes.

"I asked Ginny to find me the pictures. This was my favourite one."

"I don't remember seeing it," she told him, tracing their shapes on the photograph.

"The other stuff, they're letters. They have different situations on the envelope, times when you should read them. One says, for when you're missing me, another when you're so busy studying you don't think you have time to read this, and so on. I thought—"

A whistle rang in the air.

"Ron! You can't be here! The train—" she broke off with a gasp as she felt the rumble of the engine on the floor.

"Shit," Ron said.

"Ron?!" Ginny asked as she came into the compartment.

"Give us a minute!" he said without turning.

"The doors are locked!" Ginny exclaimed. "You can't get out!"

Ron seemed to ignore her.

"Look, Hermione," he began. "I love you. Last night was our first goodbye. Right now is our second. Somehow, it seems that we have two first times for everything. We had two first kisses, and two—well—you know. The official start to us happens the second time. Our second goodbye can't be any different."

He kissed her. She grabbed a handful of his shirt.

"I love you," she said. She felt the jerk of the train car as the engine began pulling it forward.

He kissed her again, before stepping aside and opening the window. Hermione stood next to him as he bent and twisted his body to get through it. He stumbled as he let himself fall to the ground, but managed to keep his balance and stay on his feet. Hermione could hear Ginny laugh behind them.

"People are looking!" she said. "Amazing!"

Ron turned and came to the window, now a couple of steps further along, and from which Hermione was reaching for him.

"We'll talk tonight," she said. "After the feast."

"We'll talk every day. I won't give you a chance to miss me."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You'll do great in Auror training."

Ron had to walk fast to keep up. "You'll get a hundred NEWTs."

"There's not such a thing as a hundred NEWTs."

Ron kissed her once more, before staying put in his place as the train gained speed.

"I know," he said loud enough that she'd hear him. "You'll get them anyway."

Hermione continued to look at him, standing on the platform, until the train turned and he disappeared from view. The imprint of that image stayed with her for hours and years; the way he looked there, tall, lanky, and hers… hands in his pockets and the softest smile on his face.

In that moment she knew, right in her soul, that they were it. This year apart was nothing but a bump. Nothing would come between them. Their lives together were set, forevermore.

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AN: I can't believe it… it's finished!

I was concerned about this last chapter, as I didn't want to disappoint. I finally found my groove, and after talking about my insecurities with Remedial-Potions and hearing Honouraryweasley12's feedback, I feel happy with the results. I hope you all are, too.

People, I wrote a romione novel, almost 207k words. It took me more than four years writing and three years posting (hey, I had a very busy life at the same time), but I finished it.

I set out to write a story that felt realistic for the original idea: what if Ron and Hermione got separated somehow right after Deathly Hallows ends? What if it delays their getting together? To me, it was to to be a story that dealt with the aftermath of the battle but also brightened as the story progressed. I also wanted it to be 80% UST which I don't think I was successful at LOL but, still, I'm happy.

If you would like to know what happens next in this universe, I have a couple things planned but no timeline for them at all; ie, I have no idea when I will post any of it. Just so you know, though, one is a 6-chapter follow up which is already planned and structured, set about 2 to 3 years after the end of LMF; I also have a few one-shots planned. It will all be marked as LMF Universe, LMFU, or the like.

Now, some very well deserved thanks!

A big thank you to...

… Otterandterrier, because she was the first to hear my idea and she not only encouraged me to write it, but she also gave me lots of feedback and helped me solve plot issues for the first year or so of writing it,

… Jenahid, for being so generous with her encouragement and beta work,

… Honouraryweasley12 for being a great partner in life and a mostly-willing sounding board to help me solve plot issues,

… Remedial-Potions/Bowtruckles, for helping me feel settled in this last chapter and for all the stimulating conversations about writing,

… DEM bc they're just awesome and supportive of me and my writing,

… All the recurring reviewers, those who binged the story, and everyone who let me know what they thought of Love Me Forever, for keeping me engaged and feeding my resolve to finish it. I would list the people whose names I learned, but I don't want to forget anybody and make them feel bad. Just know that I read every single review I got, that each one made me happy, and that I noticed every repeat reviewer.

I thank you all for going on this ride with me, and I will see you next time :)